The present application is the national stage under 35 U.S.C. 371 of PCT/BE98/00091, filed Jun. 16, 1998.
1. Technical Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a distribution installation for packets, with an operating device and compartments beside and/or above one another in which the packets to be dispensed, ordered or selected can be arranged, where by means of the said device, controllable transport means are provided that enable an ordered or selected packet to be transferred from the exit of a specific compartment to a dispensing hatch.
2. Prior Art
In most traditional distribution installations of this type, the packets are arranged in parallel rows behind one another in the said compartments. When a particular packet is selected from one of the compartments and go has to be transferred to the dispensing hatch, this is done by a pusher, located bend the last packet in the said compartment, pressing against the said packet and displacing it over a distance corresponding to that occupied by the said packet, so that the first packet in the row is pushed out of the compartment in order for it to be brought by the said transport means to the dispensing hatch.
Depending on the form and nature of these packets, various problems can arise in this way.
If for example the packets can be deformed relatively easily, e.g. bags with loose blocks of candy or with granular products, or which are bar or flat shaped so that they can easily slide over one another, there is a risk that when pressing against the last packet by means of the pusher, some of them can slide over one another or be compressed, so that several packets arrive at the dispensing hatch at the same time.
The invention has as its main aim to offer a major improvement which can be applied to such installations in a very simple way, so as to solve the above-mentioned problem, totally regardless of the nature and form of the packets to be moved to the dispensing hatch.
For this purpose, according to the invention, a conveyor belt is mounted in the compartments concerned being directly or indirectly controlled from the operating device, and permitting the packets to be delivered one by one to the above-mentioned transport means.
According to the invention, the conveyor belt more specifically forms the floor of the compartment concerned, on which the packets can be placed.
In a particular embodiment of the invention, the said compartments are separated fir one another by partitions in which a drive mechanism is provided for the conveyor belt lying against one of its sides.
In a more specific embodiment of the invention, the said drive mechanism comprises a cable or chain transmission movable in steps, which can be moved parallel to the conveyor belt, where between the said transmission and the conveyor belt an engagement dog is fixed to the conveyor belts permitting the same movement to be imposed on the latter as on the said transmission, in a synchronous maimer.
In the above-mentioned distribution installations, the said engagement dog is formed by the pusher which, according to the invention, is fixed-mounted on the conveyor belt, with the latter in this case moving on freely-rotating rollers.
The invention further concerns a distribution installation in which the operating device comprises an automatic cashier, and in which the compartments for the packets to be ordered or selected may or may not be equipped with the above-mentioned conveyor belt.
In most distribution installations with an automatic cashier, there is the problem that the recipient for the inserted coins has to be emptied very frequently, while the one destined for giving change in turn has to be filled very frequently.
In intensively-used distribution installations, this can be a very time-consuming operation.
The invention is aimed at among other things dealing with this major disadvantage, in a relatively simple way, by proposing a distribution installation for packets in which the automatic cashier is equipped with a receiver for inserted coins which cooperates with a coin tester, where the said receiver connects, on the one hand, with a hopper divided into various compartments, and, on the other hand, with a return ay for coins not accepted by the coin tester, where the said coin tester is provided with means for guiding the accepted coins separately, type by type, to the above-mentioned various compartments of the hopper, where furthermore control means are provided which enable the total amount of the coins and of any banknotes, which may, be introduced separately into the automatic cashier via a banknote reader, to be compared with a credit amount corresponding to the value of the packets ordered, and to re=un any remaining balance via the hopper to a hatch.
Finally, the invention concerns an important improvement to the dispensing hatch for a distribution installation for packets with an operating device and compartments located beside and/or above one another, in which the packets to be selected can be arranged, where by means of the said device controllable transport means are provided which enable a selected packet to be transferred from one of the said compartments to a collection tray.
This improvement is characterised by the fact that means are provided which permit a selected packet to be transferred from the collection tray to the dispensing hatch.
In a preferred embodiment according to the invention, a flexible belt is provided between two opposite edges of the collection tray, which in a first position defines a hollow space in the collection tray, into which a selected packet arrives, and in a second position is tightened to form a sloping surface between the said two edges, in such a way that the corresponding packet is automatically led into the dispensing hatch.